A Simpler Time
by Misha
Summary: The picture represented a time when everything seemed simple, but, then, nothing is as it seems. Contains some SLASH.


A Simpler Time   
By Michelle

Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics.

Author's Notes- This is a bizarre Smallville story that my mind kept coming back to. As I've said before I don't know a lot about the "Superman" universe. I don't read the comic books and it's been years since I've seen the movies, so with the exception of "Smallville", I have little knowledge of the characters and their backgrounds. I mean, I do know the basic facts about Superman, I know who Lois Lane is, and that Lex Luthor is the bad guy. But other than that... So, I just made things up. This start out as a simple vignette and turned into a longer, more complicated piece about how things turned out the way they did. There's slash in this, which is new for me. I'm not much of a slash fan, but there's something about Lex and Clark... Well, that's all for now, enjoy!

Spoilers- Abstract ones for Hourglass, I guess.

Rating- PG-13

* * *

The picture has faded with age, but it still sits in it's silver frame on Clark Kent's coffee table. He has kept it around to remember a different, simpler time.

Except it wasn't simple. After all, nothing is as it looks on the outside.

On the outside the story of the people in the picture seems simple.

It's a snapshot of five teenagers.

There's a blonde girl, then two teenage boys, a pretty dark haired girl, and finally a young man who is a few years older than the others. They don't quite fit together, but somehow or another it works. Somehow they've bonded together and become friends.

It's obvious to anyone who looks at the picture that the boy in the middle is the glue that hold them all together. Everyone else is looking at him.

The tall, beautiful, innocent boy with startling blue eyes. In the picture, his arms are wrapped around the dark haired girl. She's smiling up at him with warm brown eyes. It's obvious to anyone, that she adores him.

That part at least really is simple. Her name is Lana. She's pretty, popular, nice to everyone. She's the perfect all American girl. She used to date the Quarterback of the football team, but she left him for the boy in the picture. The boy with the amazing eyes, Clark.

If you asked her, she wouldn't be able to tell you why it happened. It just did. One minute she was happy, she and the quarterback, Whitney, had been together for a while, they had a good relationship, and then suddenly things changed. Suddenly, she found herself thinking not about Whitney, but of the shy, but sweet farm boy who lived down the road. And before she really knew what was happening, she had broken up with Whitney and had started a new relationship with Clark. It's obvious to anyone that she's happy with the choice that she made. That she's where she feels she belongs.

The rest of the picture is not as simple as it looks.

Take the young man on the left. He's different than the others. His name is Lex.

He's handsome in a striking kind of way, his bald head and pale blue eyes make for a startling combination, especially since he's dressed all in black. He stands a little apart from the others, with them, but separate from the same time. It's a position he's been in his entire life.

His eyes are on Clark, their expression is unreadable, but there is a small half-smile on his face and his posture is relaxed. Those who know Lex would see that the walls he has erected round him all his life are down for a brief moment. That for once in his life, he is unguarded.

On the opposite side of the picture, the other girl and boy, Chloe and Pete, stand together, but not together like Clark and Lana. They are only friends. They are both smiling, but his smile is genuine and reaches his eyes, while hers does not.

They're both looking at Clark. It's obvious from Pete's grin that he's happy that his friend finally won the girl of his dreams. Chloe's eyes on the other hand, contain barely disguised longing and a touch of envy . It is clear that she wants what she can't have.

And Clark, the person that bonds them all together, he's the hardest to read.

His arms are wrapped around Lana, but his eyes are half closed so that one cannot see the expression in them. His body is some-what relaxed, but not totally. There's something in his posture, and in his expression that shows that he is always on guard, that he never truly lets himself go. Still, he's smiling, obviously happy to be with his friends and with his girlfriend.

The picture looks simple, but it is not.

There are things that can't be seen, that are never spoken of, but are there just the same.

To someone who looked closely it might seem that the longing in Chloe's eyes is for Clark, that she envies Lana's position in his arms and his heart. Even she believes that. That Clark is the one she wants. But deep down, on a subconscious level, she has to admit it's Lana that she wants. But she never lets herself think about that, about what it means. So, instead, she concentrates on her feelings for Clark.

It's simpler that way.

Pete is uncomplicated. There is no hidden longing, no deeply buried feelings.

It is the same for Lana.

Almost.

She loves Clark, he is the one she wants, and she knows that he loves her. But she also has suspicions that there's something wrong. Something she doesn't want to even think about it. So she closes her eyes.

She pushes any suspicions that she might have aside and pretends that they never existed. She is not sure what it is she's suspicious of, anyway, just that something is off, but she does not want to think about it. She loves Clark and she is happy, that's enough for her.

Clark's feelings are more complex. He loves Lana, yet at the same time he has a longing for someone else, a deep desire he knows that he should not act on. So, he fights his lust and, instead, devotes himself to Lana.

Like Lana, he does not allow himself to think about his urges. He pretends that they do not exist, that Lana is all he wants, but it is not really a lie. He does love her and would not hurt her for anything in the world.

Lex also wants what he can not have. He lusts for Clark, he might even suspect that Clark lusts after him in return, but he does not do anything about it.

Clark is his friend, he made himself a vow that friendship is all that there would be, and he will not allow himself to do anything to jeopardise that friendship. He has big plans for their future together, he knows that they can do amazing things, and because of that, he keeps his feelings to himself. He has decided that he'd rather have Clark in his life in the long run even if it means having a platonic relationship, than have him as his lover for only a brief time. Clark's friendship and the future they could build together is enough for Lex, he will not wish for more than he could possibly have.

When you look at the picture, you can not sense these things, more than that you cannot sense what will happen in the future. They are sixteen when the picture is taken, except Lex, who is twenty-two.

In the years to come things will fall apart.

Chloe will distance herself from the others in time. Her feelings for Clark, and for Lana, will eventually make it impossible for her to be friends with them. So, she will go off to college in a different state. She will exit the picture and that is that.

Pete fades from the story, he really has no place in it.

So now the five have become three.

Lana and Clark will stay together for the next several years. They finish high school and begin college, still together and still very much in love.

Or so it seems.

Lana still loves Clark. In fact, she has begun to dream of a future with him. She has blocked the doubts and suspicions away completely and instead, concentrates on the good things. Because of this, she does not see what is right in front of her. She does not want to see it. She does not allow herself to see that Clark is not normal. That he's different than everyone else, that his destiny is not a regular one.

He is beginning to sense it. He is beginning to understand is destiny. To understand where his path will lead him soon, though he has not reached it yet.

The other thing that Lana does not allow her to see is that the desire that once lay dormant in both Lex and Clark has exploded. They both know it is wrong, but they cannot help it. They are drawn to each other, to their forbidden passion. A passion that was quickly growing into someing a lot more potent.

Lex has convinced himself that he can have it all. That he can have Clark by his side and in his bed.

But it is not to be. Soon, things will be different.

Lex has changed over the years. He has begun his decent to the dark side. It happened gradually, over time. Slowly his business deals became less on the level and he became more like his father, he didn't even realize it was happening.

But, he still had one link to humanity left, Clark.

But that will fade.

Clark will be forced to choose between his passion for Lex and the fact that he really does love Lana. Maybe he doesn't love her the way he thinks he might love Lex, but he does love her. More than that, he knows she loves him, and he does not want her to be hurt, after all, it's not her fault that she is not what he wants.

He makes his choice. He makes the only choice he can make. He ends his involvement with Lex, so that Lana will not get hurt, but it is too late.

Losing Clark, causes Lex to lose his hold on his humanity. He became what he was always meant to. What he once tried not to become. One thing he has become is vengeful. If he cannot have Clark, than neither will Lana.

He does not have the knowledge or ability to harm Clark, he knows that much. That will come later. So, instead, he harms Lana. He sets up an accident, an accident that will take her from Clark forever. He watches as Clark holds her broken body in his arms.

The transformation is complete. The Lex of years ago is gone, lost forever. He has become even more vile than the man who raised him, the man who made him.

Lana's death seals Clark's fate as well. It puts him on the path he is meant to take. He will never forget the sight of her face, as she died in his arms. He will not forget the fact that it was his betrayal of her that led to her death. More than that he will never forgive Lex for taking her from him.

They have realized their destiny. They went from friends to lovers and are now enemies. Things will never be the same between them ever again.

Lex's goodness and humanity and Clark's innocence are gone. Neither of them will ever again be who they once were.

Years pass.

Clark has fully embraced his destiny. He has become what he was meant to. To the world he is now known his Superman, the abilities he always had, are being used to save the world. He is doing a lot of good.

Lex, on the other hand, is using his money and power to do evil. He is bringing pain and suffering to many.

The point has come when their battle will be to the death. There is no longer any affection left. The hatred they now feel for one another has over-shadowed whatever remnants of the past were left.

Yet, even though he's determined to stop Luthor, there's a piece of Clark that remembers the man Lex used to be.

That's why he kept the photo.

To remind him of a simpler time, but also to remind him of how things got to be that way.

The End


End file.
